Don't Pimp Your Stuff!

The Diderot Effect

“The pressure to upgrade our stock of stuff is relentlessly unidirectional, always ascending.” -sociology professor Juliet Schor

The things we own comprise a significant part of who we are.  Our identities are tied up in our clothes, gadgets, living quarters, furniture, etc.  We try to find a unity in our possessions. The Diderot Effect states that obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption which leads you to acquire more new things. As a result, we end up buying things that our previous selves never needed to feel happy or fulfilled.

This phenomenon is called after the French philosopher Denis Diderot, who, after living his life in poverty, comes into a large sum of money, then bought himself a scarlet dressing gown.  Soon he noticed that his living quarters, his other clothes and more seemed so shabby compared to the dressing gown.  He then began using up his money to my more things consistent with the scarlet cape, eventually putting himself in debt.

All products purchased by a consumer aim to be cohesive with that consumer’s identity.

The introduction of a new, atypical product can trigger a process of spiraling consumerism.  Take, for instance, buying a new suit.  Goodness, those old shoes won’t work with it, and neither will the old belt.  Yeah, gotta lose the shirt and tie, too.  So you go out and buy accessories to match the cool new suit. And that's just the beginning.

Our natural inclination is always to accumulate, to add, to upgrade, and to build upon. We are rarely looking to downgrade, to simplify, to eliminate, to reduce.

When we obtain a new item when tend to acquire additional ones.  Being aware of this problem can help you avoid it. 

1) Don’t splurge on a really deluxe version of anything, clothes, houses, furniture, or technique, that doesn’t fit in well with your existing belongings.

2) Don’t allow your children to pressure you to buy things you can’t comfortably afford.

3) Let go of desiring things. There will never be a level where you will be done craving things. There is always something to upgrade or update.

4) If you do buy things, get rid of the old.  Otherwise, you are stuck with a hoarder’s lair!

I read a scary story of a man who died in his apartment during a fire because the firefighters couldn’t get through his stuff to reach him and rescue him.

Define Your Ideal Life

Now that you’ve pared your stuff down appreciably, or perhaps you are still in the midst of the journey, you might want to set your sights on your Ideal Life.

The first step in the process is to write out a script, a kind of screenplay of your ideal life to come. Perhaps a page or two.

Here’s how you go about it: Envision your life five to ten years from now. Write down what you would like your ideal life to look like, as if you would be already there.

I invite you to focus on:

· Work - What do you do for a living? How intense is your passion for your choice?  Where does your work take you? Do you travel in your job? What kind of advantages does this calling offer?

· Money - How much money are you earning every year? How much money do you have in the bank? What type of investments do you have your money invested in? How much money is your money earning for your ideal life?

· Health - Are you healthy and in the future? What is your evidence, that is, what do you see when you look in the mirror and how do you feel?  How high is your energy level?  How much do you weigh? How often and intensely do you exercise? What exercises do you enjoy doing? What does your body look like? Are you muscular? Are you lean? Are you both?

· Family - Do you have a family? How many in your family? How is your ideal future family doing in life? What things does your family enjoy doing and experiencing together?

· Home -  What do your living quarters look like? Describe each room. Describe your surroundings. What country or state are you living in?

· Relationships - Do you have a lot of friends? How many? Describe your friends. What are they like? What do they do for a living? What do you do to make your relationships deeper and even more rewarding?

· Things - What fun objects do you own? How often do you take time to enjoy these things?  Do all of your things have a home?  Do you own a vacation dwelling? Where is it located? Is it on a beach? Is it on a lake? Is it in a big city? What kind of car do you drive? Or do you prefer other means of transportation?

· Enjoyment: What do you do for fun? What are your favorite activities in the future? Do you go on vacation? Where do you go on your vacations? What are some of your favorite vacation experiences? What are your hobbies? How creative are you? What new experiences do you engage in? What learning experiences do you enjoy?

The key is to describe as vividly as you can. You want to identify every aspect of your ideal, future life with all details that seem important to you.

Your mind has difficulty with vague things. Fine points help your subconscious get its neural head around your perfect life. These details tune your mind into the things you want in your life. They stimulate your mind to get to work and find a way.

So get started and begin creating your Ideal Life.  The first seed is being sown when you begin to develop a concrete vision of what you want with vivid details.

Go on.  Have fun with it.